Chappell Roan is a RuneScape sicko who absolutely loves the ‘medieval synth sh*t’ of its soundtrack

As a 32-year-old straight man whose musical tastes mostly orbit Zupfgeigenhansel, I am incredibly well-suited to discuss the music of Chappell Roan. “Good Luck Babe”, “Hot To Go”. All the hits! I absolutely know all of them and could easily name more, if I wanted to.

But why is she gracing the pages of PC Gamer? Because it turns out she’s a videogame OST connoisseur. Specifically, there’s a space in her heart for the beeps and boops of the Old School RuneScape soundtrack. In a chat with Hemlocke Springs in Nylon, Roan paid Springs’ debut album, the apple tree under the sea, the highest compliment: she said it put her in mind of RuneScape’s music.

Roan was discussing the ways in which she feels boxed in by labels—from “queer artist” to “pop star”—when she paid tribute to Springs for her nuanced, “multidimensional” work. One way you know it’s multidimensional? Because listening to it put Roan in mind of RuneScape.

“Your album makes me feel like I’m listening… I don’t know if you ever played RuneScape, but it’s like… Do you know what I’m talking about?” Roan put to Springs. Springs, well, didn’t quite know what she was talking about, despite being the same age as Roan, remarking that “I feel like I’m thinking of the wrong videogame. Is it a romance one?”

Which, to be fair, nothing is more romantic than RuneScape. Roan continued: “No, not that one, but it’s from the early 2000s and has videogame sounds down.” In particular, Roan has a lot of affection for the synth-y, MIDI-hued tunes of early-aughts RuneScape: “It’s really medieval synth shit. I’m a video game girl, and I love synths and ’80s weird shit.”

(Image credit: Jagex)

On this, as in so many other things, Roan and I are pretty much the same person. I didn’t even play RuneScape as a kid, but I completely understand how its music would worm its way into your mind and stay there. Pulling it up now reminds me of pretty much every fantasy-themed game I had the good fortune to put my hands on in the late ’90s. Maybe I should actually listen to Chappell Roan’s music instead of just pretending I have.

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